EU's PM2.5 Limit Festering: New Study Linked PM with Heart Attack

Description: Smog from motorized vehicles is one of the common environmental problems in large cities of Asia and Southeast Asia (Haze in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia). Air pollution is a significant environmental determinant of human health. Over the past decades, studies conducted in various parts of the world documented a number of hazardous effects of ambient air pollution on health. A recent WHO report also suggests that the pollution kills about 1 in 8 people globally . Of the many determinants of air pollution, the adverse effects of particulate matter (PM) on health outcomes are well documented. However, while there is no evident and appropriate safe level of exposure, the PM issue has been seriously underestimated in most of the developing countries, particularly countries in the Middle East and South Asia. More surprisingly, the EU limit for PM 2.5 is still more than twice of the WHO recommendation. In 2008, the EU directive established an annual average PM 2.5 threshold lev